Hal McRae
Harold Abraham McRae ( ; born July 10, 1945 in Avon Park, Florida) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1968, 1970–72) and Kansas City Royals (1973–87). Utilized as a designated hitter for most of his career, McRae batted and threw right-handed. He was formerly the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the father of former major league outfielder Brian McRae, and his son Cullen McRae is the Florida Marlins video coordinator. Biography McRae was selected by the Reds in the 6th round of the 1965 draft with the 117th overall pick. He was considered a below-average outfielder with the Reds. In 1972, McRae was traded to the Royals along with Wayne Simpson in exchange for Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum. McRae developed as a consistent designated hitter in the American League. His playing career spanned 23 years, including 14 seasons with Kansas City. Selected a three-time All-Star, he hit over .300 six times for the Royals and was named Designated Hitter of the Year three times both by The Sporting News and the Associated Press. In 1976 McRae was on top of the AL batting title race going into the final game of the season, in which his teammate George Brett went 2-for-4 to clinch the title over McRae by a margin of less than .001; McRae finished second. Oddly, the other two of the top four finishers that season, the Minnesota Twins' Rod Carew and Lyman Bostock, played in that same game. In a 19-year major league career, McRae posted a .290 batting average (2091-for-7218) with 191 home runs, 1097 RBI, 484 doubles, 65 triples and 109 stolen bases in 2084 games played. He added a .351 on base percentage and a .454 slugging average for a combined .805 OPS. McRae played hard—so hard, in fact, that the rule requiring a runner to slide into second base when breaking up a double play is still referred to as the Hal McRae Rule in honor of the man whose cross-body blocks into second base broke up a lot of double plays and second basemen at the same time. Following his playing retirement, McRae managed the Royals (1991–94) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2001–02). He also served as hitting coach for the Cinncinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals. McRae, who won a World Series ring playing for Kansas City against the Cardinals in 1985, won a ring as a coach for the Cardinals when they defeated the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series, four games to one. Managerial records See also *List of Major League Baseball doubles champions Sources *''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'' – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English. ISBN 1402747713 * * *BaseballLibrary Category:Major League Baseball left fielders Category:Major League Baseball designated hitters Category:Cincinnati Reds coaches Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Kansas City Royals players Category:American League All-Stars Category:Baseball players from Florida Category:African American baseball players Category:African American sports coaches Category:American League RBI champions Category:Indianapolis Indians players Category:Kansas City Royals managers Category:Philadelphia Phillies coaches Category:Tampa Bay Devil Rays managers Category:Major League Baseball hitting coaches Category:St. Louis Cardinals coaches Category:Florida A&M University alumni Category:People from Manatee County, Florida Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Kansas City Royals coaches Category:Montreal Expos coaches Category:Left Fielders Category:Coaches Category:Managers Category:Players